Hundreds of residents were evacuated from public housing towers in London because officials were unable to guarantee their safety in the wake of the Grenfell Tower blaze.

Camden Council said it decided to evacuate four buildings on the Chalcots Estate Friday night after fire inspectors told officials that the blocks were “not safe for people to sleep in overnight.”

“The last thing I wanted to do was ask residents late on a Friday night to leave their homes,” council leader Georgia Gould told Camden New Journal. “I asked the fire services if there was anything I could do, use any resources to make the buildings safe and their answer was categorically no.”

Residents are evacuated from the Taplow residential tower block on the Chalcots Estate, in the borough of Camden, north London, Friday, June 23, 2017

(Alastair Grant/AP)

Gould announced the evacuation after a review of the blocks uncovered cladding similar to the type on Grenfell Tower as well as problems with “gas insulation and door stops.”

The council earlier announced its intentions to immediately strip cladding from five towers in the estate following an inspection ordered after a fire at the Grenfell Tower — which claimed at least 79 lives — revealed it could be a potential fire risk.

British officials Saturday said cladding samples from 27 high-rise apartment blocks in 15 different areas have failed fire safety tests, though they did not reveal the location of those buildings.

“It’s unbelieveable. I understand it's for our safety, but they can’t just ask us to evacuate with such short notice,” resident Renee Williams, 90, told the Guardian. “This is a nightmare, there was a fire in the block two years ago and it was contained, so I don’t really see what all the fuss is about.”

The damaged Grenfell Tower, a 24-story apartment block in North Kensington, London.

(FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA/EPA)

Gould rejected claims the evacuation was an over-reaction, saying the council “only acted to protect” its people.

“Grenfell changed everything, and when told our blocks were unsafe to remain in, we acted.”

The Grenfell fire, potentially the worst in the history of the United Kingdom, was sparked by a faulty refrigerator and fuelled by unsafe building material. Police said manslaughter charges are possible in the deadly blaze.

A local London council has decided to evacuate some 800 households in apartment buildings it owns because of safety concerns following the devastating fire that killed 79 people in a west London high-rise.

(Alastair Grant/AP)

Up to 600 residents were believed to have lived in the 24-story tower before it caught fire on June 14. Only nine of the 79 victims presumed dead have officially been identified.

A spokesperson told the Guardian residents would be allowed to return to collect their possessions with firefighter escorts over the weekend. They may not be able to return to their homes full-time for another four weeks.